Electrical devices such as resistors, silicon controlled rectifiers, power amplifiers, etc., generate substantial quantities of heat during operation- To maintain these devices and to provide for efficient operation it is necessary to transfer heat from the electrical device during operation. Typically, such electrical devices are enclosed within a housing and are provided with some form of a metal plate that acts as a heat transfer medium. Usually, the metal plate is disposed adjacent the resistor or the heat generating element and heat generated by the resistor or heat generating element is transferred to the plate. In many cases the metal heat transfer medium forms the back of the housing and is secured directly to a metal panel. Consequently, heat is transferred from the resistor or other type of heat generating element to the metal plate and from the metal plate to the panel.
The one major drawback to this approach is that such conventional metal heat transfer plates are very inefficient. They tend to heat up in spots and do not efficiently distribute heat uniformly throughout the metal heat transfer medium. This inefficiency in heat transfer results in the associated electrical device being large in size and restricted in its power production.